Space Jam
Space Jam is a family film starring Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, and the cast of the Looney Tunes. It was released theatrically by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment on November 15, 1996. The movie is a fictional account of Jordan's retirement from the NBA, as an alternate story of Jordan's initial return to basketball, with him being inspired by Bugs Bunny and others. It also marks the debut of Lola Bunny, the Nerdlucks, and Mr. Swackhammer. Plot As NBA superstar Michael Jordan retires from basketball to pursue a career in baseball, Mr. Swackhammer, the proprietor of the extraterrestrial theme park Moron Mountain, is seeking new attractions for his failing park. He sends his minions, the Nerdlucks, to capture the Looney Tunes, who reside deep below the surface of the Earth. The Looney Tunes challenge the Nerdlucks to a basketball game as revenge, since they are not very tall. To prepare for the game, the Nerdlucks return to Earth and steal the talent of Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, and Shawn Bradley by forcing their way into the players' bodies by changing into a strange pink liquid to climb up their backs and into their brains to steal their talents from the inside. The Nerdlucks use their stolen talent to become the MonStars, gigantic creatures that the Looney Tunes are unable to defeat by themselves. To aid them, the characters recruit Jordan, who reluctantly agrees after the MonStars squash him into the shape of a basketball and bounce him around like one. Soon after, the game between the TuneSquad and the MonStars begins, but the Looney Tunes are roughed up by the brutal playing style of the MonStars until only Jordan, Bugs, Lola, and Daffy are left standing leaving them short one player. Bill Murray, being friends with the producer of the film, is able to enter the Looney Tunes' world and join their team, averting forfeiture. By the climax of the game, the TuneSquad are down by one, and it is up to Jordan to score the final point for his team. Using his extendable arm, supplemented by the power of toon physics, Jordan manages to make the basket and win the game. He convinces the MonStars that they're bigger than Mr. Swackhammer, whom the MonStars send to the moon, and that they are to give back the stolen talent, changing them back to Nerdlucks, they have already decided to stay with the other Looney Tunes instead of returning to Moron Mountain. Afterwards, the characters return Jordan back to Earth, where he returns the stolen talent back to their respective owners. He is later prompted by his rivals to return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life comeback. Cast of characters Michael Jordan as a fictional version of himself, a professional basketball player who retires from the NBA to pursue a career in baseball, which is what his father wanted him to do Bill Murray as himself, one of Michael Jordan's friends and a self-proclaimed friend of the producer of the film, which allows him to join the Looney Tunes when they are short one player Wayne Knight as Stan Podolak, a publicist who makes sure nobody bothers Michael Jordan Thom Barry as James Jordan, Michael Jordan's father Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Michael Jordan's supportive wife Manner Washington as Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's oldest son Eric Gordon as Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan's youngest son Penny Bae Bridges as Jasmine Jordan, Michael Jordan's daughter Billy West provides the voices of: Bugs Bunny, a male rabbit who acts as the de facto leader of the Looney Tunes and plays on their basketball team. Elmer Fudd, a big-game hunter who seeks Bugs Bunny's demise. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Dee Bradley Baker provides the voices of: Daffy Duck, a greedy glory-hound duck and best friend of Bugs Bunny who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. The Tasmanian Devil, a ravenous and crazed marsupial who plays on the Looney Tunes' team. Toro, a bull that attacks the Monstar Pound during the game after Daffy painted his shorts red. Danny DeVito provides the voice of Mr. Swackhammer, the proprietor of the theme park "Moron Mountain", for which he seeks new attractions to save his failing business. He's also the film's main antagonist who later acts as the coach of the Monstars. Bob Bergen provides the voices of: Hubie and Bertie, a pair of mice who act as the commentators of the game. Marvin the Martian, an extraterrestrial who acts as the game's referee. Porky Pig, a stuttering pig who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Tweety, a small yellow canary who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Bill Farmer provides the voices of: Sylvester, a tuxedo cat who seeks to devour Tweety. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Yosemite Sam, a short-tempered and extremely grouchy Western outlaw who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Foghorn Leghorn, a large Kentucky-accented rooster who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. June Foray provides the voices of: Granny, an elderly woman who acts as the cheerleader for the Looney Tunes' team. Witch Hazel, a witch who also acts as the cheerleader for the Looney Tunes' team. Kath Soucie provides the voice of Lola Bunny, a female rabbit who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Lola is a new character introduced in this film, who is also Bugs Bunny's love interest and later becomes his girlfriend. Maurice LaMarche provides the voice of Pepé Le Pew, a French-accented skunk who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Frank Welker provides the voice for Charles, Michael's pet bulldog who menaces both Bugs and Daffy when they were in Michael's house. The voices of the Nerdlucks are provided by Jocelyn Blue (Pound, the orange leader of the Nerdlucks), Charity James (Blanko, the dim-witted and gangly blue Nerdluck), June Melby (Bang, the belligerent green Nerdluck), Catherine Reitman (Bupkus, the giggly and crazy purple Nerdluck), and Colleen Wainwright (Nawt, the diminutive and clever red Nerdluck) The voices of the Monstars are provided by Darnell Suttles (Pound), Steve Kehela (Blanko), Joey Camen (Bang), Dorian Harewood (Bupkus) and T. K. Carter (Nawt) Trivia The movie's original promotional website can still be found online, exactly as it appeared in 1996 Even though Space Jam is a Warner Bros. film that pokes some subtle jabs at Disney, it first aired on network TV as part of ABC's Wonderful World Of Disney The film marks the debut of Lola Bunny, the Nerdlucks, and Mr. Swackhammer The Tune Squad's jersey numbers: 1. Bugs Bunny, 2. Daffy Duck, 3. Sniffles the Mouse, 6. Yosemite Sam, 8. Porky Pig, 9. Sylvester, 10. Lola Bunny, 13. Wile E. Coyote, 25. Barnyard Dawg, 33. Foghorn Leghorn, 53. Elmer Fudd, a heart symbol for Pepe Le Pew, and a question mark for Beaky Buzzard The Monstars/Nerdlucks' names are Pound (orange), Bang (green), Nawt (red), Bupkus (purple), and Blanko (blue), but none of their names are mentioned in the film and neither is the word "Nerdluck" In 1997, there was going to be a sequel to Space Jam called Space Jam 2, but it was cancelled only a few weeks after its pre-production began. The original plans for Space Jam 2 were supposed to feature the villainous Berserk-O! and his henchmen, O!-No and O!-Yes, but since its screenplay had yet to be completed, it didn’t even have Berserk-O!’s motive for despising the Looney Tunes yet. Space Jam 2 appeared to be a no-brainer, but Warner Bros. had one stipulation: the involvement of Michael Jordan, as long as Jordan was involved, Space Jam 2 was a go. However, a stunning revelation arrived: Michael Jordan hadn’t joined the film because no one had hooked him up with the project, and as a result, Warner Bros. executives immediately shut down Space Jam 2, so the sequel’s production was over before it began because they assumed audiences would be less interested in a Space Jam sequel without one-half of the Hare Jordan duo. The Monstars make a cameo in the Pinky and the Brain / Animaniacs episode "Star Warners", a parody of Star Wars In the "b-roll" footage taken from additional cameras on the set, Michael Jordan played basketball against several strange men in green suits and facemasks who are both shorter than he and less talented at the sport. The little green men who never appeared in the film, were later digitally removed and replaced with cartoon characters. Even before animation began, voice artists were busily recording their dialogue. In particular, actors with comedic and improvisational skills were cast to create energetic, funny characterizations that lived up to the standards set by the legendary Mel Blanc. Danny DeVito, who usually performs in front of the camera as an actor, or steps behind it as a producer-director, added another title to his repertoire when he took on the role of the bombastic, sadistic Swackhammer. He recorded his role early in the filming process, and was soon followed by numerous voiceover specialists who appeared to supply the voices of the remaining characters. Category:Movies